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Peru State College · Nebraska

Peru State scholarships and merit aid

Peru State's merit awards are all tuition-waiver scholarships that cannot be combined and generally require living on campus, topping out at a Full Tuition award for a 3.6 GPA.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

Is Peru State worth a closer look?

Peru State may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Merit tiers6See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

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Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

$2,000-$6,000

Academic Scholarships (GPA grid)

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
2.70 minimum (3.6 for top tier / Full Tuition)
ACT
Test-optional; submitting scores encouraged
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

High school graduate; admitted student; residency on campus; enrolled full-time

How to keep it

Renewable tuition award (page presents it as a renewable scholarship); specific renewal GPA/credit terms not stated on this page.

Notes

Tuition waiver scholarship. Listed under 'Competitive Scholarships' which 'cannot be combined' and are 'subject to availability.' Top tier ($6,000 / 3.6 GPA) is described as Full Tuition; lower tiers are Partial Tuition.

Source

Full tuition

Board of Trustees Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Minimum of a 3.6 GPA
ACT
Optional (submit if taken)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Nebraska high school graduate or resident; admitted student; residency on campus; full-time

How to keep it

Tuition waiver scholarship; renewal terms not stated on this page.

Notes

Full Tuition. Competitive scholarships cannot be combined.

Source

Full tuition

No Boundaries Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Minimum of a 3.6 GPA
ACT
Optional (submit if taken)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state high school graduate or resident; admitted student; residency on campus; full-time

How to keep it

Tuition waiver scholarship; renewal terms not stated on this page.

Notes

Full Tuition for non-Nebraska residents. Competitive scholarships cannot be combined.

Source

$8,500

Nebraska Career Scholarships

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Minimum GPA 3.0
ACT
Minimum ACT of 18
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Majoring in Business, Education, Criminal Justice, or Computer & Management Information Systems (CMIS); priority for non-athlete

How to keep it

Renewal terms not stated on this page.

Notes

State-funded career scholarship. Rolling deadline.

Source

Half on-campus tuition waiver

Cooperating Schools Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
GPA of 2.5 or higher
ACT
ACT score of 14 or higher
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Must come from an eligible cooperating high school

How to keep it

Half on-campus tuition waiver renewable for four years.

Notes

Half tuition waiver. Eligible-schools list referenced (labeled '2023-2024' on page).

Source

$1,000-$3,000

Renewable Transfer Scholarships (Chancellors / Presidents / Deans / TJ Majors Transfer)

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
2.5 (TJ Majors) up to 3.75 (Chancellors), cumulative college GPA
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Completed 12+ college semester hours; admitted; on-campus

How to keep it

Award available for 2 years / 4 semesters; on-campus students only.

Notes

Transfer-specific grid: Chancellors 3.75 = $3,000 ($1,500/yr); Presidents 3.5 = $2,400 ($1,200/yr); Deans 3.25 = $2,000 ($1,000/yr); TJ Majors 2.5 = $1,000 ($500/yr). Priority deadline July 1 (fall) / December 1 (spring).

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Peru State's published information.

  • Outside awardsNo published displacement order

    Peru State's policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.

What families often miss

  1. The page states competitive scholarships 'cannot be combined' — you receive one award, not several layered together.

  2. All awards are tuition-waiver scholarships; 'Full Tuition' covers tuition only (about $6,240/yr) and does not cover required fees, housing, or food, which together push the full cost of attendance to roughly $24,972.

  3. Most awards require residency in on-campus housing and full-time enrollment; commuters generally do not qualify for these scholarships.

  4. The academic scholarship priority deadline is January 15, 2026, and most named competitive awards are due January 15 (RHOP December 1); awards are also subject to availability, so late applicants risk no funding.

  5. Tuition waivers leave the ~$5,888 housing and ~$5,568 food charges to the student; budget for these on top of the waiver.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Nebraska and out-of-state students with a 3.6 GPA who plan to live on campus and want a full-tuition waiver; mid-range GPA students get partial tuition waivers.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $24,972 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Peru State, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Peru State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$9,986
$30,001–$48,000$9,779
$48,001–$75,000$12,845
$75,001–$110,000$12,313
$110,001+$13,450
All income levels (average)$11,632

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$8,640
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$11,632

That works out to roughly a 48% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $22,240 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Peru State is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
38%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
64%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$21,875 (~$232/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$47,071
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
52%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
66%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Peru State's competitive scholarships are tuition-waiver scholarships that 'cannot be combined' with each other, are subject to availability, and generally require living in on-campus housing and full-time enrollment. The page does not address how private/outside scholarships are treated.

Competitive scholarships cannot be combined; each is a tuition waiver unless noted otherwise; eligibility generally requires on-campus residency and full-time enrollment. No statement on outside/private scholarship displacement.

Source

Other Peru State scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountFull tuitionEligibilityApply for admission and complete the separate RHOP application; enroll full-time, on-campus, 12 credit hours

Deadline December 1; separate application required

Source

AmountAmount not published (coach's discretion)EligibilityProgram participants on the eight athletic teams or cheerleading; contact head coach

Tuition and room waivers at coach's discretion

Source

Peru State merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    The Academic Scholarship priority deadline is January 15, 2026. Board of Trustees, No Boundaries, and Cooperating Schools awards are due January 15; RHOP is due December 1; Nebraska Career Scholarships have a rolling deadline.

  • Can I combine Peru State scholarships?

    No. The page states competitive scholarships cannot be combined; they are tuition-waiver scholarships subject to availability.

  • What GPA do I need for the top award?

    A 3.6 GPA earns the $6,000 Full Tuition Academic Scholarship; 3.5 earns $4,400, 3.20 earns $3,000, and 2.70 earns $2,000 (all partial tuition below the top tier).

  • Do I have to live on campus?

    Yes for most awards — eligibility generally requires residency in on-campus housing and full-time enrollment (12+ credit hours).

  • Is Peru State test-optional for scholarships?

    Yes. Peru State is test-optional, but submitting test scores is encouraged to enhance your profile for scholarship review.

See sources and other schools

How Peru State compares

  • 133 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.

    Peru State is in a recognizable cluster (133 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 133 of 749 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.

    Peru State is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Peru State is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Peru State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

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